June 3, 2011
Congressman Mike Capuano led 24 of his House colleagues in writing to President Obama expressing support for a draft executive order to require anyone submitting a bid for a federal government contract to disclose political contributions.
"Federal contractors compete for contracts funded by taxpayer dollars," said Congressman Capuano. "It's simply a matter of basic transparency to require the disclosure of any political contributions made and I applaud President Obama for taking steps to make that basic information available."
The White House recently drafted an executive order to require federal government contractors, as part of the application process, to disclose political spending from the past two years. The types of spending include: 1) direct contributions to candidates or parties made by the company, its officers, or subsidiaries and affiliates; and 2) contributions made to third-party organizations for use in independent expenditures or electioneering communications intended to affect federal elections.
"This executive order, if finalized and implemented, would represent a big step forward," stated Capuano. "President Obama is right to address this current gray area, and he deserves to know that there is backing for such disclosure on Capitol Hill." A copy of the signed letter is attached.
Contact: Alison M. Mills (Rep. Capuano) 617-621-6208